It is around 2 p.m. on Monday, June 3, when Thibault (1) loses his cool. In one of the corridors of the Thomas-Edison high school, the 1st year teenager comes “search from [son] teaching explanations on one of [ses] notes”.
The exchange escalated and became physically violent. In front of a crowd of students waiting during the break, the young man took a run-up and slapped the teacher.
The scene – that Var-matin viewed – lasts only a handful of seconds. Filmed, it is immediately broadcast on social networks.
The establishment, for its part, follows the protocol: dismissal of the student, disciplinary council, then definitive exclusion. The professor stops.
Nine hours of police custody
The Draguignan gendarmerie commander – who is currently carrying out an investigation into the dissemination of the images and the context of the altercation – confirms that a first complaint was filed by the teacher against Thibault.
“He spent four hours in police custody, alone, and an additional five in my company”details his father who, like all the sources interviewed, assures “condemn this act”.
However, the complaint was dismissed by the prosecutor, the teenager receiving a simple reminder of the law and six months of awareness training.
Behavior called into question
Very quickly, the situation evolved. Friday June 7, Thibault and a classmate, accompanied by their parents, in turn filed a complaint against the teacher.for violence and harassment”and against the high school principal for “endangering the lives of others”.
According to the minutes, “students are insulted and beaten [par leur professeur]” throughout the school year.
Of the “insults” as “asshole” would have been accompanied by “brushes”“nudges”or even of “open hand strikes behind the head”.
In addition, 22 handwritten testimonies from students belonging to the same class as Thibault – provided to the police – support these statements.
Considered a student “AVERAGE”, “passive in class, but calm” within a class “difficult to manage”according to our information, this act of violence surprised parents and teachers alike. “I regret this gesturethe teenager admits. But it’s the result of an accumulation of things over the year.”
According to several sources, at least four reports from students were sent to the head education advisor during the year regarding the teacher’s attitude, “without anything changing”.
The professor gives his version of the facts
The minutes of the teacher’s complaint, which we have consulted, are limited to the moment of the slap.
Here are excerpts: “I was in front of the door of my classroom, I was going to open it to go in. [Mon élève] came very close to me and asked me if I was the one who gave him a 12/20 on a project. I told him that if it was written it was the case. […]. He then directly told me [donné] a blow to the face […]. A student, I don’t remember which one, put a belt on him so he wouldn’t hit me again. […]. I them [ai] found out in the corridor outside and [il] then said to me ‘do you still want to fight?’ I should point out that I was not supposed to have [cet élève] today in class and he came to meet me on purpose to fight.”
The teacher has since also filed a complaint for threats expressed on the Pronote platform against the father of the student in question.
Back in time
Contacted, the professor agreed to testify directly in our columns, returning to the school year.
This describes a class “very difficult to manage, where students spent their time throwing objects at each other, damaging equipment, not listening to lessons, nor handing in various homework or projects, etc.”
Several reports and observations were written by him, notably addressed to his superiors, “without return”. The student responsible for the slap, although with “very disturbing behavior, was not the most disruptive element”.
A situation – the teacher admits – which has “brought out of [ses] gonds”. To the point of insulting, as specified in the student minutes?” I may have said “asshole” to a guy, yeah, that’s possible. It happened. My colleagues knew they were trying to annoy me.”
And have certain physical gestures of irritation? “Yes, it’s truehe admits without giving further details. But they were the ones who were attacking me, harassing me. Some students were sticking up behind me, stroking my hair… They didn’t have to get up. It was their thing to make me angry, it was even the main reason for their presence.”
The professor struggles to explain his attitude: “I don’t know, I’m trying to do my job. They had lessons, but the students didn’t want to do anything, even the most serious ones.”
Academy and unions: their feedback
The Nice Academy confirms with Var-matin the sequence of events of June 3 (1).
She specifies that, the next day “in the morning, the Academic Director of the national education services of Var personally went to the site to meet the teachers, in the presence of the adjutant of the Lorgues gendarmerie. During this meeting, he assured ‘entire staff for their full support.’
On June 12, this one “returned to the establishment […] with the public prosecutor of Draguignan”. Functional protection at “the victim teacher” as well as psychological support were provided to him.
“Everyone is shaken, in shock”say Catherine Jouanneau and Coline Rozerot, teachers at the school complex and respective representatives of the teachers’ unions Sud éducation and FSU.
“In solidarity with the teacher”they denounce the lack of management staff: “We would need an additional CPE, a second librarian position, more supervisorswe detail. When we come to tense situations, it’s a sign that there is something wrong. There, clearly, there was a situation of suffering. And this could be avoided. We can feel like we’ve been abandoned.”
